Columbia County Genealogy
	Lodi, Wisconsin
	Portage Area Chamber of Commerce

Information donated by Helen Rawson:

Geography:
Columbia County is part of a belted plain that covers all of central and southern Wisconsin.  The highest altitudes along this plain lie in the western uplands, a rocky, hilly country known as the Driftless Area because it never was covered by glaciers.  Along the eastern periphery of the western uplands, glacial action in the Baraboo Range ripped away hugh blocks of quartzite rock, deposited moraines and formed cliffbound Devil's Lake. Most of the major rivers flow southwestward into the Mississippi.  The Wisconsin is the largest and, at one point in Portage, Wisconsin, is only a mile from the Fox River, which flows northeast into Green Bay.

Portage
pop. 8,800, elev. 798'

Home of Zona Gale, America Writer
County Seat of Columbia County

In 1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were probably the first Europeans to make the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, thus linking the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River.  This junction rapidly developed into an important trade route.  By 1835 the portage had become a plank road, which was replaced by a canal in the 1870s.

The town of Portage grew up around Fort Winnebago, which was built to protect the stream of commerce.  Jefferson Davis, a young West Point lieutenant, was assigned in 1829 to cut logs for the barracks.  He later became president of the Confederacy.

Modern and attractive, Portage acknowledges its origins with several restorations and the Marquette Trail, a hiking trail that follows the Fox River from the Governor's Bend Locks to the Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters. The city attends to the present by serving the surrounding farming and dairying area.

Old Indian Agency House. 1.5 mi. e. on SR 33, then .5 mi no. along the canal, was built in 1832 by the U.S. government for John Kinzie, agent to the Winnebago Indians, and his wife, Juliette.  The structure has been restored and furnished in period and has a visitor center. Guided tours are available.

Surgeon's Quarters. 2 mi. e. on SR33, is on the original site of old Fort Winnebago. Built by Francois LeRoi, a portaging businessman, the restored 1819-28 building contains period furnishings, historic documents and original plans for the fort.  At the site is the 1850 Garrison School, furnished with antique desks, McGuffey readers and mannequins in period costumes.

Poynette
pop. 1,700, elev. 852'

Poynette is the southeastern terminus of a scenic stretch on I-94, which follows the Wisconsin River and ends at the junction with I-90.

MacKenzie Environmental Education Center of the Department of Natural Resources is 2 mi. e. on crossroads of CS and Q off US 51.  Exhibits include a wildlife exhibit with live animals native to Wisconsin, a model forest nursery, a fire tower and an arboretum.  The center also has logging and conversation museums, hiking trails and picnic facilities.

Baraboo
pop. 9,200, elev. 879'

(Partly located in Columbia County, partly in Eastern Sauk County)

The river, the nearby mountains of purplish quartzite and the trim little city of Baraboo all took their name from the French trader Baraibault, whose post stood here in the early 19th century. Another name is almost synonymous with Baraboo - Ringling.  Fond memories of a circus boat they had seen in Iowa spurred five sons of a German harnessmaker to present their first "Classic and Comic Concert Company" show in 1882.

From 1884 to 1918 Baraboo was home of their enterprise, which ultimately became Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Circus World Museum. 426 Water St., following signs, is on 50 acres of the original winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. Circus.  The museum re-creates the history of the American circus.  Throught the summer season, the museum offers big-top circus performances, daily circus parades, demonstrations of historic circus operations, concerts and exhibits, including what is described as the world's largest collection of circus wagons.  Elephants, pony and
carrousel rides are available. Picnic facilities are also available.

Devil's Lake State Park. 3.5 mi. s. on SR 123, consists of approximately 10,000 acres. Devil's Lake, spring fed and having no visible outlet, is bounded on three sides by the quartzite cliffs of the Baraboo Range.  Bear, lynx, Eagle Indian mounds were created by ancient tribes.  The park is one of several units of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve, which is under development.  Naturalist programs and exhibits explain the glacial phenomena of the area.

The International Crane Foundation. 5.2 mi. n. on US12, this center is dedicated to the study, propagation and preservation of endangered cranes. Self-guiding and 2-hour guided tours daily.

North Freedom
Mid-continent Railway Museum. Featured is a 7-mile ride on early 20th-century trains pulled in vintage steam locomotives, including the last operating Chicago and North Western steam engine.  The museum includes an 1894 depot, a wooden water tower, locomotives, railroad cars and equipment displays.  An autumn color train ride takes place in the first two weekends in October; a winter ride runs the third weekend in February.  A dinner train ride also is available.  Santa Claus Express is offered Thanksgiving weekend.  Picnicking is permitted.

Pardeeville
pop. 1,800, elev. 815'

Home of Mark Bortz, Chicago Bears Football Player

Founded by John Pardee, who operated a grist mill on the Lower Fox River which was dammed to create Pardeeville Lake, in the early 1800's.

LaReau's World of Miniature Buildings. 1 mi s on SR22, displays about 100 minature replicas of famous buildings and the structures amid landscaped grounds with streams and waterfalls.  Among the replicas are the White House and the U.S. Capitol, the capital's monuments and memorials, the Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, the Great Wall of China, Egyptian pyramids, and a German castle.

Wisconsin Dells
pop. 2,300, elev. 899'

(Partly located in Columbia County, partly in Eastern Sauk County)

Believed by the early Winnebago Indians to be the path of a giant serpent, considered a bane by 19th-century log drivers, and a fascination to geologists and photographers -- the scenic dells of the Wisconsin River are the state's foremost natural attraction.  The river has cut a channel through soft sandstone to a depth of 150 feet and, for a distance of 15 miles, has carved the rock into fantastic forms. A dam separates the river into the Upper and Lower dells.

In 1856 the center of population and business of the region was the flourishing town of Newport.  Then the railroad decided to build its bridge 2 miles north and Newport ceased to exist almost overnight.  Several buildings were moved to the new site, called Kilbourn City.  To publicize the geologic novelty of the dells, Kilbourn City ws renamed Wisconsin Dells in 1931.

Dells Boat Tours.  11 Broadway, offers guided sightseeing trips through the Upper and Lower dells of the Wisconsin River.  Boats leave the Upper Dells Land, center of town on SR 13/16/23, and the Lower Dells Landing, jct. US 12 and SR 13/16/23, daily.

This county is available for adoption.  Please contact Bob Schuster for additions or more information.